Feature News

ABCD: Blessings and dollars

Why Catholics should give to the annual appeal which kicks off this month

Friday, January 22, 2010
Ana Rodriguez-Soto - Florida Catholic

MIAMI — It’s a question of blessings and dollars.

That is how Catholics should view ABCD, the annual ArchBishop’s Charities and Development appeal which will take place in all archdiocesan parishes at the end of January or beginning of February.

Blessings because everything we have comes from God, and the Bible tells us we have a duty to share that bounty with the less fortunate.

Dollars because ABCD is one of three sources of funding for the central offices of the archdiocese, and bills have to get paid.

Alonso-Mendoza, president of the Catholic Community Foundation and of the archdiocese’s Development Corporation, spoke about ABCD with Archbishop John C. Favalora during the “Conversations with the Archbishop” that were taped Jan. 11 and can be heard online at the archdiocesan Web site, www.miamiarch.org.

“All my life, I’ve been a firm believer that the more you give the more you get back,” Alonso Mendoza said. “What I would ask … is that when you make the pledge you consider the blessings you have been granted not only this year but throughout your life.”

Archbishop Favalora explained that the archdiocese’s central offices rely on three sources of income: an assessment, similar to a tax that is collected annually from every parish; income from an investment portfolio; and ABCD.

Although the interest from the investment portfolio rebounded a bit in 2009, it was not enough to keep up with the costs of running the archdiocese. In fact, for several years now the archdiocese has been unable to fund its operations without borrowing money.

“And that’s why we’re getting to the end of our ability to borrow,” Archbishop Favalora said.

That dwindling ability to borrow is what led to the drastic measures and difficult decisions he had to make in 2009: eliminating archdiocesan subsidies for financially struggling parishes and schools; laying off staff and eliminating ministries at the Pastoral Center; merging parishes.

“We’ve had to cut back on some of these services, there’s no question about it, just to keep the basic operations going,” Archbishop Favalora said.

He noted that when he arrived in the archdiocese, the subsidy to struggling schools was about $1 million. By the time it ended last year, it had risen to $5 million.

ABCD has never raised more than $9 million.

“The fact is, at the end of the year, in order to balance the books, we had to borrow $3, $4, $5 million,” Archbishop Favalora said.

Among the archdiocese’s “must pay” bills he cited the “outrageous” cost of property and liability insurance in hurricane-prone south Florida and the escalating costs of health care for employees.

Every parish in south Florida is struggling with those same costs.

“One of our pastors said recently he has to pay over $400,000 a year just for insurance, just for insurance on the buildings,” Archbishop Favalora said. “So that’s part of the problem. You do have to pay the bills because, if not, who’s going to pay the bills?”

The ABCD video that many will see in their parishes — and which also can be seen online at isupportabcd.org — touches on that subject.

“The archbishop and I had long discussions about how we were going to communicate the problems that … we have had throughout the year in the archdiocese,” Alonso Mendoza said. “Sometimes being a good steward entails making some tough decisions.”

In the video, “the archbishop explains very clearly the process he went through and then reminds us a little bit what it is that being Catholic is about.”

On average, ABCD receives contributions each year from between 23,000 and 26,000 Catholic families. There are an estimated one million Catholics in the archdiocese, which comprises Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties.

Rather than a one-time donation, ABCD asks Catholics to commit themselves to giving a portion of their income throughout the year.

“It’s a sharing,” Archbishop Favalora said. “One of the characteristics of the Church always has been to share what you have. That was from the early Acts of the Apostles and it still is today, to share so that others who have less can have a little bit more.

“It reflects a theology that says that whatever you have comes from God,” he continued. “St. Paul tells us that everything that we have is a gift. So whatever we have, no matter how much we’ve worked for it, that’s all because of the grace of God. We have an obligation to share that.”

Both the ABCD brochure and the video feature testimonies from people whose lives have been touched or changed by the Church.

“They explain what the Church has meant to them and I’m sure all of (you) have had similar experiences,” Alonso-Mendoza said.

He urged Catholics to “consider those things before you make a commitment to the ABCD and I think the commitment will be easier to make and the pledge easier to fulfill.”

ABCD donations may be made via check, Visa, MasterCard or American Express, online bank transfer or the transfer of appreciated stocks and securities. For more information, call your parish or the development office at 305-762-1243 or go to isupportabcd.org.

For more information about the Catholic Community Foundation, go to www.theccf.org.